The invention relates to a machine for manufacturing brushes, having an injection mold for manufacturing multi-component brush elements from plastic, in particular for toothbrushes, the injection mold having a mold plate at the nozzle side and at the ejector side, in which mutually allocated mold cavities are provided, the injection mold being formed as a turning tool having a turning part (index plate) that can rotate about an axis of rotation and that is allocated to the ejector-side mold plate, and that has partial cavities of the mold cavities of the ejector-side mold plate.
From DE 200 07 304 U1, an injection-molding machine is known that has an injection mold of the type indicated above. This known injection mold is formed as a turning tool, so that in a first injection process a basic toothbrush element can be executed, and in a second injection process an extrusion coating of this basic element can be executed in order to form a finished toothbrush element.
The known injection mold has groups of mold cavities in the mold plates and in the turning part, which are all situated with their longitudinal extensions parallel to one another.
This arrangement of the mold cavities is intended to enable a more compact arrangement in comparison with an arrangement of the mold cavities in which mold cavities point radially away from the center of rotation.
Nonetheless, this results in a comparatively large space requirement, so that the space available between the beams of the injection-molding machine allows only a comparatively small number of mold cavities to be situated there.
After the injection processes, the mold is opened and the injection-molded articles are transferred with the aid of the turning part. Here, the basic elements are transferred to the subsequent extrusion coating station, and the finished injection-molded articles are removed from the extrusion coating station, or are supplied to a cooling and removal station. Here the cycle time is made up of the time in which the mold is closed and the time in which the mold is open. During the open time, the injection-molded articles are transferred and finished brush elements are removed. This means that the mold cannot be closed again until the finished brush elements have been removed from the mold. In the manufacture of toothbrush elements, standard cycle times are approximately 30 to 35 seconds.